


Tattoos and Microphones

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Revelations, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-11
Updated: 2013-03-11
Packaged: 2017-12-05 00:48:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/716956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam gets a tattoo, Zayn gets tricked by Harry, and there's happy endings all round.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tattoos and Microphones

**Author's Note:**

> Based off two separate prompts that I combined together:
> 
> Ziam one-shot where Zayn is convincing Liam to get a tattoo and Liam gets one that has to do with something special about him and Zayn (you can make up whatever, maybe a nickname or something) and then they admit their feelings for each other
> 
> Can you do a Ziam smut where Liam is talking with harry about his feelings for Zayn but he leaves his microphone on and Zayn ends up hearing every single word?

“I can’t believe you’re finally going to get a tattoo!” enthused Zayn as he and Liam strapped themselves into the seats of the taxi. 

“Well it was bound to happen sometime, what with you and Harry’s influence,” his friend joked, reaching a hand over to stroke the outline of a microphone on the older boy’s arm as was his habit these days. A jolt of undeniable electricity shot through Zayn at the touch, but he chose to ignore it as he always did because _Liam was straight_. And he couldn’t go around falling in love with his straight male friends, not matter how attractive the prospect might have seemed. 

So instead of taking the pale hand in his own as he would have liked to he pulled his arm away, which caused Liam to frown a little before he was beaming again as usual. “Thanks for agreeing to come with me.” 

Such a simple compliment was enough to make Zayn smile widely too, and he dared to put an arm around Liam’s shoulders in a way that was totally and utterly platonic, with no hidden agenda of being able to feel the heat of his body against him whatsoever. "It’s fine, Li – it’s always nerve wracking getting your first tattoo, so I thought you’d want someone there with you. What is it you’re getting, anyway?" While he asked the question, Zayn leaned over to snatch the piece of paper that he knew displayed the design for Liam's first tattoo - he'd been keeping it private from all the other band members since he'd finally agreed to get it done last Monday. 

However to his surprise Liam quickly pulled the sheet out of his grasp with a blush rising to his cheeks as he stuttered out a response. "N-nothing," he muttered self consciously, looking down at his knees as though fascinated by them, however by then Zayn was too intrigued to let the subject go. 

"Oh, go on, tell me what it is! I'm going to see later anyway!" A small whining tone had entered his voice by that point, but he had the advantage of his well-practised puppy dog eyes on his side, and it was then that he chose to turn them on Liam. 

"No, no, don't do the eyes on me," giggled Liam in an attempt to turn the attention away from his tattoo. It worked better than it should have done, because all of a sudden they were play fighting and Zayn had to concentrate all his attention on not getting turned on rather than what exactly Liam was getting inked on his arm. 

Just as he was about to ask about the design once again, the taxi drew to a halt and they immediately began to undo their seatbelts while the driver called to them from the front of the vehicle. "Sorry to tear you apart, but we're here now. Have fun, lover boys!" 

By that point Liam had already left the car and was waiting expectantly for Zayn to do the same, so only the older boy heard what she had said. That alone, though, was enough to him panic just as he did in interviews whenever 'Ziam' was brought up. 

"Oh no," he began hastily, mortified that Liam might have overheard her assumption. "We're not together!" For a moment she seemed genuinely shocked before smiling apologetically and gesturing for him to leave through the door that he’s left hanging open in his haste to explain. 

Having done so, Zayn stared after the taxi as it left, wondering what exactly had prompted their driver to believe that they were in a relationship. Was his dream closer to a reality than he realised? Had he grown so used to their 'bromancing' that he hadn't realised what it had evolved into? 

"Come on Zee!" Liam's excited voice penetrated through his thoughts, and with a sigh he turned towards his friend, hoping to let everything that had just happened be forgotten. 

***

Zayn wasn't sure when exactly Liam turned from a ball of excited energy to a shivering wreck of nerves, but it was probably somewhere in between walking through the door of the tattoo parlour and them ascending the stairs up to the top floor where the buzzing of the needle could be heard clearly. Whatever the reason, by the time they'd reached the first floor Liam had gone as white as a sheet while his shoulders shook uncontrollably: it didn't take much intuition to realise that he had suddenly realised exactly what having the tattoo he'd been so looking forward to would actually entail and that (although he was doing his best not to show it) it was scaring the shit out of him. 

Knowing how much his friend hated to appear at all weak, and even more so creating a scene, Zayn put his arms around Liam and pulled him close to his chest so that the younger man could bury his nervous face into his shoulder until he had calmed down. The gesture wasn't thought through at all - he was doing what felt natural in order to comfort Liam - however when another customer at the parlour walked through a door and saw them hugging close together he did a double take that prompted Zayn to wonder for the second time that day whether the two of them really were more amorous than was to be expected of a couple of straight (or in his case, supposedly straight) teenage lads. 

However, right then his priority was preventing Liam from having a breakdown in the middle of the floor, so he simply held him closer and then pulled away so that they were facing each other and he could look into the younger man's now slightly less terrified brown eyes. 

"Are you OK?" he asked sympathetically; thankfully Liam nodded, attempting a shaky smile to reassure Zayn that he was now at least slightly more OK. 

"I don't know what happened," he muttered, however Zayn totally understood the reasons for his panicking and so squeezed his shoulders in comfort before letting go and letting them both move on from the moment. 

***

Zayn knew the tattoo artist at the parlour very well, having had his own skin inked by him many times, and so was able to chat amicably with him, which seemed to calm Liam down somewhat. As Zayn subconsciously massaged his friend's shoulders in a way that might have seemed odd to any outside observers but that to them was perfectly natural, Liam quickly started to relax despite his earlier fear; eventually he brought up the subject of his tattoo himself in order to let Zayn know he was totally settled. 

"What is it you wanted to get?" asked the heftily built tattooist, but once again Liam blushed when he was asked about the design before finally handing over the piece of paper he'd been keeping a tight grip on all morning. The tattoo artist took it unceremoniously, but as he unfolded the piece of A4 Zayn was already craning his neck to see what was so secret that Liam hadn't allowed him to see it until now. 

His breath hitched when he first saw what was drawn there, then he quickly clamped his lips shut in order to prevent any more painfully obvious reactions to come jumping out. "That's my tattoo," he whispered, which came out a bit more incredulously than he was expecting but there was little else he could manage to say in the moment except the obvious truth. 

Because on the piece of paper was a simple design that he recognised only too well: the thick outline of a hand with two fingers crossed together - the very image that Liam knew full well was a symbol of hope and luck for the older boy, and which also happened to secretly be to do with the very person who was about to get it permanently emblazoned on their arm too. 

"Is it alright for me to get it too?" the voice that cut across his thoughts was uncertain and a little bit desperate - it sounded as though Liam really wanted the tattoo for whatever reason, and there was no way that Zayn could refuse him anything at the best of times. 

"I, well, of course," stammered Zayn, cursing how ridiculously possessive he must sound about a simple picture, but whereas outwardly he tried to remain nonchalant, inside he was filling up with questions about why Liam had chosen that tattoo. His friend knew how much it meant to him, so what was he trying to say by picking it for himself too? Was it just representative of the strength of their friendship? Or was there something more that he was refusing to let himself see for fear of rejection and humiliation? 

These questions continued to swirl through his head, playing havoc with his ability to concentrate, while the two of them were led towards a booth where the tattooing was due to take place. It thankfully didn't take too long, and wasn't nearly as painful as Liam had been expecting, but even so when it was over they both chose to ignore the fact that he was gripping onto Zayn's hand as though he never wanted to let go. 

The image on Liam's arm was the mirror image of Zayn's, and the older boy couldn't help but feel that was really fucking ironic under the circumstances, except that the inked fingers might as well have been held over his own lips, preventing him from ever saying the truth about his feelings. 

***

On the way home (which they decided to walk due to the nice weather) Zayn finally had a chance to talk to Liam privately about his choice of tattoo. Even then, however, the subject was still an awkward one to bring up because Liam appeared to be deliberately avoiding that particular topic of conversation as much as possible. It wasn't until they were halfway back to Harry and Louis' flat where the whole band were due to meet for lunch that he had the opportunity to ask the questions that had been eating away at him all morning. 

"Er, Li, you know your tattoo?" 

Smiling, Liam attempted an air of nonchalance but his eyes were darting around in blind panic. "Um, yeah - what about it?" 

With a sigh, Zayn decided he might as well go for it if he wanted to get any answers, so dropped all attempts at subtlety. "I just wondered why you got it, that's all. I mean, what does it mean to you?" 

By that point Liam's face had turned a slight shade of beetroot, which Zayn wasn't sure whether to take as encouraging or a sign that he should stop and pretend he'd never said anything. 

"W-why do you ask?" stammered Liam uncertainly, and Zayn took a deep breath before diving into the untested waters once more. 

"You see, when I got that tattoo, it was sort of about someone special." 

Looking as though he wasn't sure whether he was being told off for picking the same design or complimented on his good taste, Liam frowned, then smiled, then tried to make sense of Zayn's babbling. "Someone special? But then why would you have crossed fingers?" 

"Because I was hoping they would like me too." Zayn didn't know what he was doing by that point, except that his face was dangerously close to Liam's and he was daring to say things sober that he normally wouldn't even dare reveal when drunk. 

For some reason, his behaviour seemed to be proving unsurprising to Liam, who looked much more confident than before as he started to reply. "And what if they had done?" 

Although he still wasn't sure where their conversation (or their feet for that matter) was going, Zayn's heart began to beat faster at the question while he sought for an answer that wouldn't immediately reveal who the tattoo was really about. "Then that would have been brilliant, I guess." 

Liam suddenly seemed to be standing so close to him that he had to discreetly pinch himself to be assured that this wasn't some sort of strangely realistic dream; when he replied his breath was tickling Zayn's cheek a little from their close proximity to each other. 

"Well, if you want to know the truth, I got it..." 

"Zayn! Zayn! Liam! Liam!" All of a sudden the air was full of typical fangirl screams and the two of them jumped apart instantly when half a dozen screaming teenage girls came rushing around the corner towards them. By the time they'd finished signing t-shirts, books and arms for the group of fans the moment had well and truly passed until all that remained between them was awkward silence and the knowledge that they could never speak of what had almost happened again. 

***

Zayn always told Harry everything. He always had done, ever since they'd both first been made members of One Direction over two years ago, and so the younger boy knew all about his less than platonic feelings for Liam. 

Now, as they were sat side by side in a radio interview the day after the tattoo incident, Zayn couldn't help smiling sappily whenever Liam spoke or turned to him or did anything totally banal but that to him seemed special and important. The interviewer had asked about the tattoo and Liam had said something about it representing hope for the future, and they joked that he hadn't had enough inspiration to think of his own design and so had decided to nick one of the other band members' tattoos instead. Only Zayn hadn't been able to join in with the light hearted banter as he contemplated how close he had come to telling his best friend about how he felt, and how far apart it seemed to have left them. 

"What are you staring at?" whispered Harry while Louis was answering some question or other, and the Zayn jumped in his seat at being caught gawping at the object of his unrequited desire. 

"Nothing," he muttered, but was unable to tear his gaze away before Harry followed his line of vision and gave a smile of acknowledgement. 

"Oh, Liam - of course. You seriously like him, don't you?" 

This obvious statement confused Zayn at first - after all, he'd told Harry on many occasions that he was deeply in love with his best friend - but he figured from the candid way that the younger man was speaking that their microphones must be switched off, and so began to tell the younger boy in a hushed whisper about his most recent feelings for Liam. 

"Of course I really like him," he began with no sense of abashment: there was no reason for him to be ashamed of revealing his innermost thoughts to one of his closest friend who he knew had been in a similar situation back when was first infatuated with Louis. "He's so kind and funny and handsome... how could I resist?" 

"Why don't you tell him then?" asked Harry as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Zayn sighed at his naivety. Harry was the sort of person who presumed everyone was open to experimentation regardless of their sexuality, but Zayn had enough experience of rejection to know that wasn't the case. 

"Because he's straight Haz!" his voice rose a little as he forgot where he was. "And even if he wasn't, why would he like a little screw-up like me? He's just perfect, and I'm..." Finally he realised he was still at the radio station and that everyone had gone quiet apart from him. A green light above them saying 'on air' confirmed his worst suspicions and he turned to Liam with apologies and excuses running through his head like lightning. 

However to his surprise, Liam didn't look upset or angry or even that shocked. Almost in slow motion, he stood up and made his way over to the end of the row of microphones where Zayn was already on his feet. 

"You really mean all that?" Liam asked incredulously, and obviously there was no way that Zayn could deny it now he'd revealed how he felt on live radio to the whole nation. 

"Yeah," he muttered, cheeks burning with embarrassment, however all of a sudden there were strong arms wrapped around his as he felt himself being pulled into a warm, comforting, longed-for hug that at that moment meant the world to him. OK, so it wasn't a kiss or anything like that, but it was a reassurance that no matter how much of a prick he'd just shown himself up to be, Liam was still prepared to be there for him. In those few seconds that he was clasped to his chest he felt as though maybe they could still be friends anyway, even if he'd have to give up his dreams of their ever being more between them. Maybe he hadn't fucked up completely after all? 

"Don't you ever dare say you're not worthy of me," whispered Liam into his ear before pulling away from the hug; Zayn was still trying to work out what he meant when suddenly there were soft, uncertain lips pressed against his in a way that was reminiscent of his many dreams about this moment, except that now it was actually happening. 

The embrace was slightly awkward and neither of them seemed totally sure what they were doing, yet it was somehow still the best kiss that either of them had ever experienced. When they surfaced for air, they were able to look straight into each other’s eyes for the first time since the tattoo incident the day before: Liam's brown orbs were a little sheepish, but at the same time a wide grin was threatening to break across his face as his hand somehow found Zayn's and their fingers linked together carefully. 

"We're live on air," Liam reminded him, but Zayn simply shrugged and bit his lip a little. 

"I know." 

"I love you." 

"I know. I... I love you too." 

And that's when the other boys all decided to start clapping. 

A rare blush washed across Zayn's face as he remembered that his friends had all been able to hear that whole exchange as well, but when he turned to them their pleasure seemed to be genuine. Harry and Louis were winking at each other, grinning like the cats who'd got the cream, whereas Niall was smiling at the two teenagers bemusedly and the interviewer was clapping his hands together in glee at landing himself such a major scoop. 

"Well you heard it here first, folks!" he cried into the microphone while smiling at the brand new couple to reassure them that this wasn't going to result in negative publicity from him at any rate. "Zayn and Liam are set to be the cutest couple in show business after that adorable spectacle!" 

A little sheepishly, Liam took Zayn's hand in his own and grinned rather goofily at him as the interview was wrapped up by the other boys. When it was all over and they were out of the studio Zayn pounced on Harry to punch him playfully on the arm before confronting him about what had just happened. 

"You set that up in there, didn't you?" 

Harry's guilty grin said it all, and Zayn could have hit him once more for embarrassing him like that, however before he could do anything that he would probably have regretted later, Liam was behind him and had wrapped his arms around his waist and Zayn just melted. 

"Well, thank you for that, Hazza," smiled Liam seriously, causing Zayn to jerk his head around swiftly. 

"Thank you?" 

Liam simply beamed and buried his head into Zayn’s shoulder so that he could whisper once more into his ear. "Without him, I'd never have got you, would I?" 

With pale fingers playing over the microphone tattoo on his arm, and the familiar thick brown hair tickling his neck, Zayn didn't think he'd ever been happier. 

**Author's Note:**

> I personally think this fic is really awkward and the characterisation is off, but it's quite sweet so I don't totally hate it ;)


End file.
